JPH06102764A - Image forming device for image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Purpose] Miniaturization of the entire apparatus without increasing the volume of the cleaning means for collecting the waste toner when the life of the photoconductor is increased to prolong the life of the image forming unit. An image forming apparatus capable of achieving the above is provided. In an electrophotographic image forming apparatus in which a photoreceptor 1, a developing device 4, a toner cartridge 6 which is detachable from the developing device, a charging device 3, and a cleaning device 2 are integrated into one unit, the toner cartridge is rotated. By being supported freely, the direction of the opening on the peripheral surface can be changed to the toner tank side of the developing device and the charging means side located directly above, and the cleaning means contacts the photoconductor to scrape off the residual toner. The cleaning means comprises a blade and a case for containing waste toner written by the blade, and the case of the cleaning means has an opening at the lower end thereof, and the opening is closed by the upper surface of the charging means when the charging means is attached, and It is opened when the means is pulled out.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an improvement in an image forming apparatus for an image forming apparatus using an electrophotographic process, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus in which a developing device, a toner cartridge, a charging means, a photoconductor and a cleaning means are unitized. Regarding

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an image forming section of an image forming apparatus using an electrophotographic process such as a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile machine, a charging means, an optical writing means, a developing device, a toner cartridge, a transfer means are provided around a photosensitive member. , A cleaning unit, a fixing unit, and the like are arranged, and an electrostatic latent image is formed on the photoconductor uniformly charged by the charging unit by the optical writing unit, and then the electrostatic latent image is transferred from the developing unit. Visualize with toner, transfer this visible image onto recording paper,
An image is formed by fixing the image. The untransferred toner remaining on the photoconductor after transfer is scraped off and collected by the cleaning means.

By the way, there are a one-component system and a two-component system in the developing device, and the former is a non-magnetic one-component system developing device, which applies a non-magnetic toner to an electrostatic latent image on a photoconductor. By doing so, a visible image is obtained, and the latter uses a two-component developer containing a carrier. Most of the image forming processes of the one-component image forming apparatus currently on the market are the developing unit,
The components such as the photoconductor unit and the cleaning unit are divided into smaller units according to their functions, and the units are replaced in units after the number of times corresponding to a predetermined number has been used. In order to promote downsizing of the apparatus, downsizing of the image forming section is indispensable, and for that purpose, it is effective and indispensable to integrate the photoconductor, the charging unit, the developing unit, the toner cartridge, and the cleaning unit into one unit. Also, in order to extend the life of the unitized image forming unit, it is necessary to use a highly durable photoconductor, but it is not possible to replace the unitized toner cartridge with the photoconductor. In this case, it is necessary to increase the size of the cartridge to make the amount of toner stored excessively large. Therefore, in order to reduce the size of the cartridge, it is necessary to configure a cartridge having a relatively small capacity to be exchangeable. Further, by keeping the replacement parts only in the cartridge, it becomes possible to maintain low maintainability.

However, a problem with the image forming unit as described above is that if the life of the photosensitive member is extended, the volume of the cleaning means for collecting and holding the waste toner needs to be increased, and the size of the entire unit is increased. There is a problem that it invites. As a method for solving such a problem, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 58-173783 discloses a technique in which waste toner can be reused by making the toner cartridge and the waste toner container the same container. In JP-A-59-184373, a partition member is provided inside one toner bottle to form a before-use toner storage portion and a collected toner storage portion, so that the space occupied by the toner bottle inside the copying machine is minimized. However, a configuration for reducing the cost is disclosed. Further, in JP-A-61-169858, a hollow cylindrical body having an opening in the longitudinal direction is used for both the replenishment and the recovery of the developer, thereby facilitating the replacement of the developer and causing the toner scattering. A structure for preventing internal and external contamination is disclosed. However, none of the above techniques is sufficient to achieve downsizing of the image forming unit.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and includes a photoconductor, a charging means, a developing device, a toner cartridge,
In the image forming unit of the electrophotographic process in which the cleaning unit is unitized, the volume of the cleaning unit for collecting the waste toner is not increased when the life of the photoconductor is increased to prolong the life of the image forming unit. Another object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of downsizing the entire apparatus.

[0006]

To achieve the above object, the present invention is an electrophotographic image forming method in which a photoreceptor, a developing device, a toner cartridge detachably attachable to the developing device, a charging means, and a cleaning means are integrated into one unit. In the apparatus, the toner cartridge is rotatably supported so that the direction of the opening provided in the peripheral surface can be changed to the charging unit side located directly above the toner tank side of the developing unit, and the cleaning The means comprises a blade for scraping off the residual toner in contact with the photoconductor and a case for accommodating the waste toner scraped off by the blade.The case of the cleaning means has an opening at the lower end and the opening is for charging When the charging means is mounted, it is closed by the upper surface thereof, and when the charging means is pulled out, the charging means is opened. The waste toner that has fallen from the opening of the case of the cleaning unit drops into the opening of the toner cartridge by pulling out the charging unit when facing the charging unit, and the charging unit can be pulled out from the mounting position. And a scraping member is provided between the cleaning unit and the cleaning unit.

The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration explanatory view of an image forming unit of an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an external perspective view showing the configuration of a toner cartridge used in the present invention, and FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of the operation of the toner cartridge. In FIG. 1, the recording paper P is conveyed from the bottom to the top with respect to the photoconductor drum 1 as shown by the arrow, so that the transfer charger 5 is arranged opposite to the lateral side surface of the photoconductor drum 1. The blade 2 is on the upper surface of the photosensitive drum.
The cleaning means 2 including a and a case 2b is arranged, and the lower end opening 2b 'of the cleaning means case 2b is closed by the upper surface of the casing 3a of the charging charger 3. The toner tank 4a of the developing device 4 arranged between the charging charger 3 and the transfer charger 5 has a developing roller 7, a toner supply roller 8 and a thinning blade 9, and a toner cartridge is provided at the opening of the toner tank 4a. 6 is detachably connected. An agitator 10 is rotatably arranged in the toner cartridge 6 and is rotated by receiving a driving force transmitted from the image forming apparatus main body side. A cartridge stopper 11 is provided on the casing of the charging charger 3 to serve as a stopper when the toner cartridge is rotated clockwise in FIG. Further, the support portion 9a of the thinning blade 9 serves as a stopper that defines the limit when rotating in the counterclockwise direction.

As shown in FIG. 2, the toner cartridge 6 has an opening (opening for both toner replenishment and waste toner collection) 20 extending in the axial direction on the side surface of a cylindrical container, and along one edge of the opening 20. Thus, a plate-like stopper 21 is provided so as to extend over substantially the entire length of the cartridge in the axial direction. The circumferential width of the opening 20 is set to be slightly wider than the lower end opening 2b ′ of the case 2b of the cleaning means.
This is because it is convenient to receive the collected toner accumulated in the case 2b from the opening 20 as described later. As shown in FIG. 1, the cartridge 6 mounted on the developing device 4 is rotatably supported about its axis, and the stopper 21 engages with the support portion 9a and the cartridge stopper 11. The rotation range of the cartridge 6 is restricted. During cleaning by the cleaning means 2, the residual toner on the photoconductor 1 is scraped off by the blade 2a, and then the casing 3a of the charging charger.
Is collected as waste toner in the case 2b having the upper surface as a bottom cover. The volume of the case 2b of the cleaning means is set to ⅕ of the volume of the toner cartridge since the transfer rate of toner on the photoconductor is 80%.

When the toner cartridge is completely attached to the developing device 4, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4 (a), the stopper 2
1 is in contact with the support portion 9a, and image formation can be performed in this state. A latent image is formed on the photoreceptor 1 whose surface is uniformly charged by the charger 3 by writing light from the illustrated optical path, and the latent image is developed by the developing device 4. This developed image is transferred onto the recording paper P by the transfer charger 5. The untransferred toner remaining on the photoconductor after the transfer is removed from the photoconductor by the cleaning unit 2 and deposited on the upper surface of the case 3a of the charger. At this time, the stopper 21 of the toner cartridge prevents the toner agitated by the agitator 10 from scattering in the machine.

At the toner end, the toner in the toner cartridge 6 becomes almost empty, while the waste toner is accumulated in the case 2b of the cleaning means. To collect the waste toner, first, the toner cartridge at the position shown in FIG. 4 (a) is rotated to the position shown in FIG. 4 (b).
By this operation, the opening 20 which has been used as a toner replenishing port is turned upward (recovery posture) and faces the opening 2b ′ of the case of the cleaning means via the charger 3. In this state, the charging charger 3 is pulled out in the direction orthogonal to the paper surface, so that the toner falls into the cartridge 6 through the opening 2b 'of the case 2b and is collected.

FIGS. 5 (a) and 5 (b) are views showing an engaging structure of the charging charger 3 and the cleaning means 2. The charging charger 3 is slidably engaged with the cleaning means 2 in the drawing direction shown in the drawing. Therefore, the protrusion 2 is provided on the bottom (edge of the opening) of the case 2b of the cleaning means.
5 and a plate-shaped scraping member 26 made of an elastic material or the like are provided and are in sliding contact with the upper surface of the charger 3. When the grip 27 of the charging charger is gripped and pulled out in the direction of the arrow, the scraping member 26 slides on the upper surface of the charger 3 and the waste toner accumulated there is opened 20 in the cartridge located below.
Drop it inside. A stopper 29 is also provided at the rear end portion of the transfer charger 3, and both stoppers are engaged as shown in FIG. 5B to prevent the charger from coming off. The scraping member 26 may be provided on the charger 3 side.

As shown in FIG. 4B, when the stopper 21 on the cartridge side is in contact with the stopper 11 on the charger side for toner recovery, the stopper 2
1 blocks the optical path, so the lenses that make up the optical system,
It is possible to prevent the other parts in the machine from being contaminated by the scattering of the toner. Further, if the corona wire is preliminarily configured to be cleaned by the cleaning member when the charging charger is pulled out, cleaning of the charger is simultaneously performed, which is convenient.

In the present invention, it is necessary that the opening 2b 'of the case of the cleaning means is located directly above the toner cartridge via the charging charger. However, the opening 2b' of the cleaning means and the upper surface of the charging charger 3 are required. It is sufficient to use packing or other simple sealing means in order to enhance the airtightness between them, and there is no fear that the configuration will be complicated. Further, since it is easy to provide the locking means so that the charging charger cannot be pulled out except when the cartridge is rotated in the state of FIG. 4 (b), a specific structure therefor will not be particularly described. .
As described above, according to this embodiment, since the waste toner accumulated in the cleaning means is collected in the cartridge when the toner cartridge is replaced, the volume of the cleaning means is made as small as possible, and the entire apparatus is cleaned. The size can be reduced.

Next, experimental examples in which the present invention is actually carried out will be described. Here, as a photoconductor, an O having a diameter of 30 mm is used.
A PC drum photoreceptor was used. The toner cartridge 6 was filled with 250 g of toner, and a running test was conducted on a 7% chart. The capacity of this toner cartridge is 7
A 10 cm ^3, and the volume of the casing of the cleaning means about 1/5 of 150 cm ^3. As a result of this test, the toner cartridge became almost empty after 5k sheets, and then the waste toner was collected by the above-mentioned procedure. as a result,
Waste toner in the cleaning case is charged by the charger 3
All of them fell into the toner cartridge and could be collected. After that, the same test was performed twice, but there was no problem in image quality and toner recovery, and the cleaning unit did not overflow.
In addition, the optical system components were not damaged when the toner was collected.

[0015]

As described above, according to the present invention, a photoreceptor,
In an electrophotographic image forming apparatus in which a developing unit, a toner cartridge, a charging unit, and a cleaning unit are integrated into one unit, the cleaning unit is replaced at the time of replacing the toner cartridge in order to significantly reduce the volume of the cleaning unit for accommodating the waste toner. Since the waste toner inside is collected in the cartridge, the miniaturization of the entire apparatus can be achieved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration explanatory diagram of an image forming unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an external perspective view showing the configuration of a toner cartridge used in the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of the operation of the toner cartridge.

FIGS. 4A and 4B are views showing a state at the time of development and cartridge replacement.

5 (a) and 5 (b) are views showing an engaging structure of the charging charger 3 and the cleaning means 2. FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 photoconductor drum, 2 cleaning means, 2a blade, 2b case, 2b 'lower end opening, 3 charging charger, 3a casing, 4 developing device, 4a toner tank, 5 transfer charger, 6 toner cartridge,
7 developing roller, 8 toner supply roller, 9 thinning blade, 9a supporting portion, 11 cartridge stopper,
20 openings, 21 stoppers,

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An electrophotographic image forming apparatus comprising a photosensitive member, a developing device, a toner cartridge detachably attachable to the developing device, a charging means and a cleaning means in one unit, wherein the toner cartridge is rotatable. By being supported, the direction of the opening formed in the peripheral surface can be changed to the toner tank side of the developing device to the charging means side, and the cleaning means contacts the photoconductor to remove residual toner. The cleaning means includes a blade for scraping off and a case for containing the waste toner scraped off by the blade. An image forming apparatus for an image forming apparatus, which is closed and is opened when the charging means is pulled out and retracted. 2. A structure in which waste toner dropped from the lower end opening of the case of the cleaning means falls into the opening of the toner cartridge by pulling out the charging means while the opening of the toner cartridge is directed upward. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is an image forming apparatus. 3. The charging means can be pulled out from a mounting position, has a stopper for preventing the charging means from falling off from the image forming apparatus at the time of pulling out, and has a scraping member arranged between the charging means and the cleaning means. The image forming apparatus of the image forming apparatus according to claim 1.